Straws
by btamamura
Summary: Caboose doesn't like drinking anything without a straw, and sadly, there are no straws at their current base. Maybe Wash can help him with that... Rated for language


**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Red vs. Blue or the characters. They are the property of RoosterTeeth, etc._

**Notes: **_**First off, thank you to the anonymous person on tumblr who gave a plot idea for this fic that I have been dying to write for ages! Thank you so much, I was able to nudge my muses awake for this one! (Except Grif, he still wanted to laze around...) **_

_**Ahem. Anyway, this is a friendship fic that takes place in the reality that we never really see during season 9, before Carolina's arrival. As such, some of what happens is slight creative license, slight canon.**_

_**I apologise for any OOCness the characters display at any point in time. I'm also leaving the traditional language warning, but hey, this is RvB, so swearing comes naturally. Anyway, please enjoy this fic!**_

Ever since the events on Avalanche, including Caboose wanting him to join their team - which worked as a good cover so he could hide from the UNSC and avoid going back to prison - and Tucker reluctantly agreeing (stating part of the reason was to keep Caboose from repeating _Can we keep him?_), Wash had felt his old self slowly returning.

Before Epsilon was implanted, Wash was a kind-hearted, good-natured guy who was also a bit of a dork, something his old friends North and York liked to lightheartedly tease him about...especially his drinking habit and love of felines.

He couldn't help but think the Reds and Caboose were thinking _Okay, who are you and what did you do with Agent Washington?_...if Caboose even considered the switch in personality...which amused him slightly.

He watched as during a moment of truce between the opposing squads - who were actually the most tight-knit friends he'd ever seen - Caboose and Sarge were hovering over the capture unit that Tex and Epsilon (_no, he's known as Church now_, Wash corrected himself) had entered; Tex by force, Church hoping to find her, in hopes of finding a way to free them.

He approached Simmons, the only, truly sane Red in that Box Canyon. "From what I've heard, I thought Sarge would prefer less Blue team members."

"Yeah, normally. But, when it comes to a depressed Caboose, any of us would do something to cheer him up. You too, right?"

He considered that was true. Caboose had been addressing him as _Church_ lately, and at first, he did what he could to remind him that his name was _Wash_. But, after a while, he allowed it; partly to save him from confusion, partly to bring him some comfort.

Tucker stepped over to Caboose and offered him a can of soft drink. "Here, you need something to drink."

"No." Caboose pushed the can away.

"Come on, don't do this again."

"I said no!"

"Dude, don't make me crack this open and pour it down your throat!"

"You're stupid, Tucker!"

Tucker growled and let out a huff. "For fuck's sake! You know we have no straws out here!"

"Straws?" Wash asked.

Tucker spun to face him so quickly, it was a wonder he was still standing. "Yeah, for some reason, Caboose here refuses to drink anything without a straw. Drove Church and I completely fuckin' insane!"

"So, what's the problem?"

"He has no straws! Honestly, I thought he would've had Blue Command send some!"

"Yeah...hard to do when the Blues had been deleted from the system," Simmons commented.

"Oh, that's right, you fucktards deleted us! No wonder there aren't any!"

Wash watched the bickering and took that time to approach Caboose. "Come with me."

"Okay, Church!" Caboose rose to his feet and followed the former Freelancer into Blue base.

Wash led Caboose into his room, something he wouldn't normally do with anybody else. But, Caboose had seen the posters of cats and kittens plastering the walls, so he didn't have to hide them from him. "Okay, I'm going to give you something from my collection, but you're not to tell anyone I gave it to you."

"So, it's a shush-shush secret?"

"Very shush-shush."

"Just like the cat posters?"

"Exactly." He opened his small closet and found a box he'd carried since Project Freelancer's days. He opened it and found a dark blue straw among many of differing colours and designs. He handed it to the younger man. "Here."

Caboose accepted the item. Behind the visor, he was smiling widely. "I haven't seen a whirly-twirly straw since I was little!"

"Remember, I never gave it to you."

"Yes, you did! Just now!"

"No. I mean, I did, but don't tell everyone else about that. Just say you found it somewhere and forgot you had it or something, okay?"

"Okay, Wash!"

He stopped, stunned. It had been at least a month since he'd stopped trying to correct the rookie. "Did you just call me _Wash_?"

"That is your name, right? Church didn't have whirly-twirly straws."

Wash couldn't see it, but he knew Caboose's smile was shrinking slightly. He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "Come on, Caboose, let's get back outside, and you and Sarge can keep working on finding Church and Tex. You've got a straw for your drinks now."

"Okay!" He perked up again. "By the way, why do you have whirly-twirly straws?"

"Well, between the two of us, I like them. A few years ago, I used one to drink my beverages. It was a bit more interesting." He sighed, not liking the nostalgia that also came with tragic memories. "But, that's enough of that. Let's get out there."

"Okay!"

Wash closed his closet and followed Caboose out of the room.

Outside that afternoon, there was still the usual bickering. But, at least Caboose was drinking again, and Wash felt a little more of his old self returning.


End file.
